More than 200 years ago, a bitter feud, a savage satire and a very public disgrace embroiled some of Limerick's most prominent families.
We are delighted to invite you to the launch of 'Scandal, satire and the battle for reputation in Limerick’s ascendancy, 1815–20' by Brian Leahy, the latest captivating addition to the renowned Maynooth Studies in Local History Series (edited by Michael Potterton). This event launches the gripping account unravels the explosive feud between barrister-poet Thomas Grady, the controversial banker George Evans Bruce, and the politically ambitious Windham Henry Quin, the future earl of Dunraven and builder of Adare Manor.
When Grady’s incendiary satire The Nosegay ignites a firestorm of legal battles and public outrage, reputations are shattered and alliances tested. The drama escalates to the halls of parliament, drawing in Whig reformers and captivating newspapers across Britain and Ireland. Through vivid storytelling and meticulous research into private letters, parliamentary records and newspaper archives, this book exposes how a fabricated narrative crafted to destroy Bruce endured unchallenged for two centuries, only now revealed as fraud. More than a tale of rivalry, this is a window into the power of words, the fragility of reputation and the making and unmaking of history itself.
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